Type 2 diabetes is traditionally diagnosed by the use of an oral
glucose tolerance test and/or HbA1c, both of which require serum collection. Various
biomarkers, which are measurable biological substances that provide clinical insight on disease state, have also been effective in the early identification and risk prediction of inflammatory diseases. Measuring
biomarker concentrations has traditionally been obtained through serum collection as well. However, numerous
biomarkers are detectable in saliva. Salivary analysis has more recently been introduced into research as a potential non-invasive, cost-effective diagnostic for the early identification of
type 2 diabetes risk in adults and youth. Therefore, the purpose of this review was to compare 6 established inflammatory
biomarkers of
type 2 diabetes, in serum and saliva, and determine if similar diagnostic effectiveness is seen in saliva. A lack of standardized salivary analysis, processing, and collection accounts for errors and inconsistencies in conclusive data amongst studies. Proposing a national standardization in salivary analysis, coupled with increased data and research on the utility of saliva as a diagnostic, poses the potential for salivary analysis to be used in diagnostic settings.